Re: Is It Better To Vacay All Inclusive or Pay As ... - Page 3

Mmsfoxxie · ‎06-19-2010

It's all about choice. All inclusive or not....neither is wrong. I like all inclusive because when I'm on vacation, I just want to relax, not run around all over the place. For those that like to be on the go all day, good for you. As far as restaurant choices go, a lot of the inclusive resorts can have 9 or 10 restaurants with different cuisines. As someone mentioned, some resorts have satellite sites that you can go to if you want a day trip and slight change of scenery.

We like the Sandals Resorts and have been about 8 times. I will admit the you eat more at all inclusive and sometimes a dish isn't good. The good thing about that is that you don't have to eat it...get something else. No tipping is a big savings, too.

For me, though, going to an all inclusive more about not having to make a lot of choices rather than whether or not I'm saving money.

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy”. (By Nightbirde, singer of the song, It’s Ok)

muttmom · ‎11-28-2012

My husband worked for a major international hotel chain. For many years he managed an exclusive, all inclusive property in Barbados. Though they did not advertise a pay as you go option, it was available. They always pushed all inclusive because the hotel made a larger profit with this option.

As others have said, it is a good option if you do not plan to leave the premises and eat and drink a lot.

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

I think that a lot depends on you and your traveling companion, if you eat a lot, or prefer to eat at your resort, and you like to drink and do a lot of water sports, then I would do an all inclusive. However if you like to venture out to different restaurants and do very little water sports, I think pay as you go is best!

Justice4all · ‎12-22-2013

Pay as you go. Sometimes book hotels in advance. Gives you the flexibility to get to know the place and people.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

As others have said, it depends on where you are going, what you want to do and what you expect. Also, not all all-inclusives are the same.

I was just going through the task of booking a vacation for us and found there was a vast difference in the all inclusive amenities from hotel to hotel. If you are staying at a hotel that has other hotels under its umbrella, generally you have access to all the hotels but sometimes one or 2 are excluded.

Several years ago DH and I went to the Bahamas. Once we did pay as you go and another time we did all-inclusive. The Bahamas is very expensive so doing the AI was much, much cheaper for us. However, we went to Cancun and the AI was a rip-off. Several of the restaurants in our hotel were excluded, a couple you had to make reservations for and we couldn't get reservations so that left us with only a few choices and they were meh as far as the food went.

The trip I booked now is AI. There are a huge number of restaurants included, several of them specialty restaurants, it's our first time going and our intent is to stay at the resort and hang out by the pool.